How are your shoulders holding up? The world on the eve of Thanksgiving, 2020, is heavy. So too was the world of 1621; the world of the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag who were trying to cope with their intrusion. Be thankful if you have strong shoulders!
Weight is better when it can be shared. We gather when we lose a loved one to share grief, to recall stories of the good times and, if we are fortunate enough to believe there is a transcendent life, to share hope.
Thanksgiving, 2020 arrives with threats. Do you have loved ones who are old? They are more susceptible to Covid-19’s worst outcomes. Or, do you live in a family that is divided by politics? Or, how hard is the economy—my job—going to be hit in this second wave of the pandemic? And if I own the business, will it survive?
My guess is that thanks are often aligned with the present, with circumstances in our lives. When our lives are going well then we are thankful—so let’s get together and have a party.
But I, like many of you, keep coming back to Thanksgivings past. I can recall driving my family of five through a snow storm on two lane roads to celebrate with my parents, 220 miles away. We had to pack carefully to leave room for the diaper pail (look it up). My guess is our risk of trouble was much higher than today’s exposure to Covid-19. I don’t say this to minimize today’s risk, but to add an exclamation point to the essence of Thanksgiving, the need to gather together with family and friends.
Our family always gave thanks to the transcendent. We thanked God for our blessings—our lives, our loves and the opportunities we enjoyed as Americans. There was, as well, an implicit understanding that as we shared the weight of disappointments and losses our common humanity and hope lessened the burdens. And I can recall the smiles and stories as we passed around photo albums of Thanksgivings past.
So I would pray for a transcendent Thanksgiving, 2020. That our many customs and traditions would point toward hope for tomorrow. Hopefulness can shoulder a much heavier weight and today we need to lighten the load. Happy Thanksgiving!
Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al recently published Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books.
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